


Future Flowers

by autisticaizawashouta



Series: You Can Have My Heart [2]
Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: Gatorade, Gatordade, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, mostly comfort, or as my typo-ridden fingers would put it, past emotional/psychological abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 22:45:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13691412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autisticaizawashouta/pseuds/autisticaizawashouta
Summary: Virgil's family loves himOr, Roman thinks everyone is weird, Logan infodumps while Virgil listens, and Patton loves his dark strange son.





	Future Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> for atmosphere: You Don't Know How Beautiful You Are by Jon Foreman

To say Roman was bewildered would be one giant, massive understatement. All the sides had weird habits and idiosyncrasies, sure, but this had to be the weirdest one he’d encountered yet.

Roman stood in the doorway to the bathroom, staring wide-eyed at Virgil, who appeared to be relaxing in the bath.

Fully clothed. With a wine glass of… was that purple Gatorade? Green Day was playing softly from the speakers of Virgil’s phone, which baffled Roman slightly because from everything he knew about Green Day they were not supposed to be listened to quietly.

“What the heck?” Roman said, gesturing wildly at Virgil. “What are you? What? I am confused, please explain, Billy Joe Anxious.”

Virgil, who had been tensing into a defensive posture, relaxed a tiny bit and quirked an eyebrow. Roman noticed the way one corner of his mouth almost lifted up, and secretly added a tally point to his inner ‘amused one of the others’ chart.

“Is that the best you could do?” Virgil asked. Roman had a hard time telling whether the other was teasing him or challenging him, although it seemed like this one was firmly in the former category.

“Well, my other thought was Virgie Joe Armstrong but I didn’t think you’d appreciate that one,” Roman replied.

“Could’ve gone with Billy Virge Armstrong,” Virgil replied, making a finger gun with the hand that wasn’t holding the wineglass.

“Well I didn’t think of that one first, so fight me. Anyways, you haven’t un-confused me yet, so get on that,” Roman said, flourishing a hand in Virgil’s direction.

Virgil shrugged and took a sip of his Gatorade. “Do I _need_ a reason?”

“Well.” Roman paused and frowned for a moment. “I suppose not. You’re not one of the impulsive ones, though, so you obviously have a reason.”

Virgil shrugged again. “Life’s too short to worry about what is, and is not, a normal way to relax.”

“You? Not worry about something? Tell me the apocalypse isn’t happening,” Roman gasped.

“Well sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do…” Virgil glanced away for a moment. Roman squinted at the other side. Hopefully he wasn’t just about to muck this all up…

“If you’re… worried… about me thinking you’re, well, weird, you shouldn’t. I do think you’re weird but we’re all weird! Logan and I both eat Crofter’s right from the jar, that’s not exactly _normal_.”

Virgil huffed a little laughter and- by Lady Luna’s light!- he graced Roman with one of his exceedingly rare-but-becoming-less-so smiles.

“Thanks, I think,” he said, and Roman grinned.

“Of course! We all have our own… strangeness about us, and that’s nothing to be ashamed about! We are who we are.” He paused for several moments, the thoughts in his head spinning fast. Was Virgil… was he…? Oh, to heck with it, he wasn’t one of the impulsive ones for nothing. “You’re not… ashamed of yourself, are you?”

Virgil snorted. That was _not_ the answer Roman was looking for, thank you very much.

“Princey, I’m literally Anxiety. There’s not much that I’m not at least _slightly_ anxious about letting you know.”

It took Roman a couple moments to find a response to _that_. “I hope you know that we won’t judge you for who you are. You’re a member of our family now. Nothing’s going to change that.”

Roman waited for Virgil to respond, the sound of Green Day playing in the background. The other side was taking a worryingly long time to respond.

“I’ll… try to keep that in mind,” he eventually said, taking a drink of his Gatorade. “Now… did you need the bathroom or…?”

“No, I’ll leave you to your… Gatorade bath?” Was that… oh that was really the wording he was going with.

“A Gatorade bath would be me being _in_ that Gatorade,” Virgil replied. “Now scram.”

“Scramming!” Roman said, holding his hands up and proceeding to scram.

 

Logan had been very pleased to have another (mostly) level-headed side he could spend time with that didn’t make his skin crawl to be around. Certainly there were other sides that he could spend time with that weren’t overbearing the way Roman and Patton were, but the less said about them the better.

Logan had never felt his skin crawl that way around Virgil, even before they started to open up to accepting him. Even when he had been just Anxiety to them, even during the time Logan had dreaded Anxiety’s sudden- and sure- appearance, he had never set Logan on guard the way any of the… _others_ did.

And while he had begun to hypothesize about why Virgil had been so isolated from the main sides, that would have to wait. He had left his corner of the mindscape to retrieve a glass of water (and some Crofter’s- he had been working hard, _he deserved it okay?_ ), so a glass of water he would procure. Patton had a frankly ridiculous rule about where it was and was not acceptable to get food from, even thought they were in the mindscape and could just materialize whatever food they wanted wherever in the mindscape they wanted. Logan normally wasn’t one to follow those rules, however, Patton always knew when one of them broke that rule and being faced with the Dissapointed Dad Expression was something Logan took no pleasure from.

He was jolted from his thoughts as he appeared in the common area of the mindscape- he wasn’t the only one there. Virgil was sprawled out on the couch, headphones on, hood up, and a blanket wrapped around him as he looked at something on his phone. A previously rare occurrence- finding Virgil willingly and casually spending time in the common areas- was slowly but steadily becoming more common. Logan’s hypothesis figured Virgil was spending more time there as he became more comfortable with his recent status as accepted into the group.

Virgil glanced up, most likely having seen Logan’s movement from his peripheral vision, and gave a little salute-wave. Logan nodded back, and proceeded into the kitchen. Patton most definitely would know if Logan did not follow the rule. Even if Virgil did not tell, Patton would Know.

Logan left the kitchen, and then rethought his intent to return to his room. Virgil was already spending time, willingly, in one of the common areas of the mindscape. Perhaps if Logan spend some more time in his general area, he would help Virgil to become more at ease around them. Virgil was already leaps and bounds more open around them than they had seen him in a very long time.

So Logan sat down on the other end of the couch and summoned a book from his room. Virgil’s eyes flicked up and watched him for a few moments before he resumed reading whatever was on his phone.

The two of them sat together, quietly, for three quarters of an hour until Virgil paused his music, took his headphones off, and extricated himself from his blankets in order to stretch.

“What are you reading?” Virgil asked. His tone was masked hesitancy- something Logan might have written off as just a part of being Anxiety, although recently, he was not so sure about that.

“I am re-reading the Dresden Files series,” Logan replied, showing the cover for a few moments. Virgil looked at him from the corners of his eyes.

“I… didn’t know you liked urban fantasy,” Virgil said.

Logan slid a bookmark in to mark his place- he wasn’t a _savage_ \- and set the book aside. “Most urban fantasy, no. However, the character Harry Dresden, while being a wizard, is a wizard who understands and uses the laws of physics. As such, I find him a more compelling character than many others within the fantasy genre.”

Virgil leaned forward. “Many others? Which characters?”

“Well, for starters, Hermione Granger,” Logan said, and Virgil smirked.

“Should’ve guessed,” he replied.

“To be more general, I find characters who are inquisitive, intelligent, and clever to be more compelling than those who are not. Characters who have… agency, and do not require other characters to outline their path.” Logan stopped and checked what Virgil’s body language was saying. The other was leaning forward, engaged in listening to what Logan said.

“So, you like characters who are… like you,” Virgil summarized, making a small hand gesture. His hoodie sleeves were pulled over his hands in what Patton liked to affectionately call ‘sweater paws’.

“Well, yes, my favorite characters do tend to share characteristics that I myself value. However…”

When Patton appeared in the common area that morning, the only evidence of the interaction that had taken place last night was Logan’s forgotten glass and the blanket Virgil had been using.

 

Patton loved his famILY so, so much. He would never say he loved any one of them more than the others- he loved them all. And he had a lot of love to share, so that was a lot of love they were all getting.

And, while he might not be as observant as Logan, he knew that there was one member of their family in particular who was very, very unused to receiving… well, _any_ love as far as Patton could tell and that. Would. Not. Stand.

And Patton had been trying his hardest. Sadly, his efforts were not quite giving the results he had been hoping for. Virgil was comfortable with the small things- sharing space, brushing up against each other while moving around the mindscape, a hand on the shoulder, quick touches and soft arm squeezes and occasionally he let Patton hold his hand.

And Patton had made it perfectly clear, very early on, that Virgil didn’t have to allow anything he was uncomfortable with. Patton had reiterated the point, as well, over and over again, because… well, all three of them had their suspicions, and if those suspicions were correct…

Well, Patton could be called overprotective.

Virgil hadn’t allowed hugs yet. Patton would respect his boundaries, though he couldn’t help but be concerned. When any of the others were stressed, hugs were how Patton helped. Patton gave very good hugs, according to both Roman and Logan. And Virgil…

Safe to say, Virgil spent a lot of time stressed.

It was one of the times when Virgil wasn’t stressed that Patton felt like he could bring it up. Logan was in his room, working on logistics for an upcoming video, and probably wouldn’t resurface for a few hours yet. Roman was off gallivanting around the imagination and would be until dinnertime.

(Patton insisted they all eat dinner together. The other three obliged him. Patton was Very Good at the Dissapointed Dad Stare.)

Patton was in the kitchen, planning what he’d make for dinner, while Virgil was perched on the counter, alternating between looking at his phone and watching Patton. The other side occasionally had a suggestion- sometimes sassy, sometimes serious.

Patton had decided what he was going to make, and so there was a bit of a lull in activity when he decided to broach the subject.

“Virgil?” he asked, and the side in question looked up, caution written all over his expression.

“Yeah?” he replied. Patton hated that he was giving Virgil _any_ sort of stress, he wished that he could just… avoid the conversation, but they had already proven that avoiding the issue would never resolve it.

“Before I ask, I want to tell you that you don’t have to tell me anything, okay, not until you’re ready,” Patton said.

Virgil shifted on the counter, looking for all the world like he wanted to sink out right there. “Uh, okay, yeah.”

Patton bit his lip. “I was… I’ve been wondering why you don’t… like hugs.”

Virgil twisted his fingers into the fabric of his hoodie while he looked anywhere but at Patton. After a few moments of steadying his breathing, he started speaking. “I…” He stopped and took a breath.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Patton said. “Just… let me know what I can do to help.”

Virgil shook his head and looked down. “No, Patton, no, you’ve been- you’ve been great. It’s just… I… I want to tell you. But…” He looked over at Patton. “I’m scared.”

“Of what, kiddo?” Patton’s heart was breaking. Oh, he hoped this wasn’t affecting Thomas… It probably was though, he’d have to mention something…

Virgil bit his lip. “I… know it’s… I know that it’s, well, highly illogical, but… I’m scared of how you’ll react.” He looked up at Patton through his bangs. “Illogical, I know.”

“Oh, Virge,” Patton said, wringing his hands together. He had to focus on keeping himself from stepping forward, from sweeping Virgil into his arms.

Virgil took a steading breath. “I… don’t… I don’t dislike hugs. But, everything, everything _he_ did… it was a means to his ends. He was…” Virgil sighed and looked away. “He was playing a long game. And physical affection was just one of his tools.”

Okay, _now_ Patton’s heart was breaking. Suspicions, well, consider them confirmed.

“I’m so… oh, kiddo, I’m so sorry that we… that we never noticed, that we drove you away. It will _never_ happen again and we will _never_ let him hurt you again.”

Virgil fidgeted with one of his hoodie strings. He looked up at Patton. “I, I forgive you but it’s not your fault.”

Patton’s chest felt like it would burst from the pressure of just _how much_ he was feeling. He loved Virgil so much, and he hated Deceit so much, and he was hurting at the thought of how much Virgil must’ve hurt…

“What can I do?” he asked. “How can I help?” It took several moments, and then Virgil held out his hands. Patton didn’t hesitate- he took Virgil’s hands in his, and Virgil slipped off the counter. While holding tight to Patton’s hands, he leaned into Patton. Patton felt him shaking, and he let Virgil hold his hands, and he let Virgil press into him.

It wasn’t healed yet, but it was a step in the right direction. And Patton would do everything he could to dampen the pain of Virgil’s past, to help Virgil heal. He loved his dark strange son so, so much.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! i brought back the Gatorade Wineglass Bathtub scene, hopefully with much less angst this time.  
> if you did enjoy, please drop a kudos! if you can, leave a comment letting me know what you thought! i love hearing from the people who read my work :)  
> with love (some extra for Valentine's day)  
> Kestrel


End file.
